The best and healthiest vegan chicken noodle soup, made in the instant pot: “quicken” noodle soup! Oil-free, and whole foods plant-based.

Soup season is here, and I’ve got your whole foods vegan chicken noodle soup recipe!
Even better? This one is made in the , so it’s a “Quicken” Nooodle Soup.
I know, always playing with recipe names. Beyond Beet Burgers, Nice Krispie Squares, Shipshape Joe’s. Hey, it’s what I do, and part of the joy in my recipe development.
This recipe comes from my new book, Dreena’s Kind Kitchen, and is the first official recipe feature from the book.
I decided to share this recipe with you because (1) it’s soup season, and (2) it’s already getting lots of love from readers.
Plus, it’s another excuse to use the instant pot, which we all seem to love in the plant-based cooking world.

Vegan Chicken Noodle Soup
So it only took me over 20 years and six cookbooks to create a vegan chicken noodle soup.
Why the wait?
Well, I never cared to replace the chicken with a vegan meat substitute. Chicken noodle soup was always more about the noodles than the chicken for me.
Still, I knew in creating a this soup that *something* would need to stand in for the chicken in this classic soup recipe.
Before creating this recipe, I had also already developed recipes that ‘checked’ the boxes of comfort food and feeling under the weather. My Sniffle Soup is one of those recipes, and is well-loved. Another is my Chickpea ‘n Rice Soup from Plant-Powered Families.
Something tugged on me to develop a more classic, vegan chicken noodle soup. And here we are.
Vegan Chicken Noodle Soup FAQs
Yes! Since this is a whole foods plant-based noodle soup, it is very healthy. It’s not only free from the saturated fats, cholesterol, and contaminants in chicken, it’s rich in vitamins and minerals, fibre, and other plant-based nutrients.
No! I opt to use tofu in this recipe, and it works very well. If you don’t want to use tofu, chickpeas are an excellent substitute.
Please see answer above.
I think other soups freeze better, such as lentil soups and pureed soups, because noodles don’t freeze especially well. But, it certainly can be frozen and enjoyed for a later date. It’s just that the texture of the pasta (and tofu) will be different. But, as I always say… “Martha isn’t coming for dinner”… so if the texture doesn’t phase you, it will freeze fine.
The flavor of the soup is excellent freshly made. But like most soups, the flavors can develop even more after refrigerating leftovers for a day or two.
Oh and hey! I did a cooking demo of this recipe – live video “Tea Time with Dreena“. Watch ⬆️ and get the recipe below.

Pressure Cooker Quicken Noodle Soup
Equipment
- pressure cooker
Ingredients
- 2-3 tablespoons water
- 1 1/2 cups diced onion
- 1 1/2 cups diced carrot
- 1 – 1 1/2 cups diced celery
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 – 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon ground sage or dried rosemary
- 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric optional
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1/3-1/2 lb dry spaghetti noodles of choice broken into thirds (see note)
- 1 1/2 cups crumbled firm or extra-firm tofu see note
- 2 bay leaves
- 5 – 5 1/2 cups boiling water
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley plus more for optional garnish
Instructions
- Set a multifunction pressure cooker (such as an Instant Pot) to sauté. Pour in the 2–3 tablespoons water and add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, thyme, oregano, sage, turmeric (if using), and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring, for 4–5 minutes. Add the spaghetti, tofu, bay leaves, boiling water (5 cups for lesser amount of pasta, 51/2 cups for more pasta), and broth. Gently stir.
- Secure the lid and set the valve to the “sealed” position. Press the Manual button, then set the cook time for 3 minutes at high pressure. Allow the pot to come to pressure and cook. Once the timer goes off, turn off the pot and allow the pressure to naturally release for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, release the lid and stir in the parsley and let sit for a couple of minutes. Taste and season with extra salt and/or pepper if desired, and sprinkle with the optional parsley garnish.
Notes

images by Angela MacNeil
Kim says
I made this soup for dinner tonight but I had to make it on the stove because my instant pot wasn’t big enough. It was still really easy and quick to make and sooooo delicious. I will be making it again.
Thank you
Dreena Burton says
Hi Kim, thanks for sharing that, I’m delighted you enjoyed it – thank you for the review!
Joyce Wishner says
What if you don’t have a pressure cooker or an instant pot?
Dreena Burton says
Hi Joyce, it can be made stovetop, I’m pretty sure I have the note there for stovetop.
Sharesa says
Are Blend Tech making glass carafe’s yet? I was hoping at some point they would.